Goa is Goa, and it will not try to ape the West while holding the International Film Festival of India (IFFI), says Chief Minister Pratap Singh Rane.

"Not Cannes. Not Venice. Goa will be Goa, and IFFI in Goa will be held the Goa way," Rane told reporters Saturday.

Rane said Goa had its own charms, was already India's "star attraction" as a destination, and there was no need to copy other Western film festival venues like Cannes and Venice just to get noticed by the global film community.

Despite Rane's assertions, similarities are being drawn between the IFFI-Goa and the Cannes film festival. Screenings of movies at beaches have become an integral part of both the festivals at venues located on riverfronts.

Bollywood blockbusters are being screened at beaches in Carazalem, a few kilometers from the IFFI venue, and at Colva in south Goa.

Films like "Sarkar", "Bunty Aur Bubbly" and "Salaam Namaste" will be screened free for the locals and tourists alike.

However, Rane admitted there were flaws in the logistical arrangements and other infrastructure facilities for the festival.

He promised that all efforts would be undertaken to develop Goa as one of the best film festival venues in the world.

He said his government had already identified a 35-acre plot to set up an international convention centre at Dona-Paula, close to Panaji.

"It will have a 4,000-capacity auditorium and would be completed in two years," he said.

Developing a film culture among its 1.3-million population is another challenge for the government. The silver lining is its popularity as a destination for film shoots.

Besides, Goa lacks high quality theatres to attract film lovers. Apart from the INOX multiplex, built at government expense in record time ahead of the festival last year, and a multiplex in south Goa, there is no prominent theatre in Goa.